


Right Wrong Turns

by LKKG



Series: Saint Motel [2]
Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: child abuse handled in some detail but it's okay it gets better, leorio is uneducated forgive him for his transgressions, toxic bravado due to desperate need for control
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:09:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27027106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LKKG/pseuds/LKKG
Summary: This is the story of all the shit that went down between Peeks and Leorio in high school. Updates will be sporadic as I connect the dots in their story.Also don't @ me for anything political okay Peeks is Israeli and that isn't a political statement I just like Halvah, okay.Also same thing as on Saint Motel, if you are Israeli or Argentinian, please let me pick your brain on cultural aspects, I want to do these countries justice.
Series: Saint Motel [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1972483
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	Right Wrong Turns

**Author's Note:**

> This is the story of all the shit that went down between Peeks and Leorio in high school. Updates will be sporadic as I connect the dots in their story.  
> Also don't @ me for anything political okay Peeks is Israeli and that isn't a political statement I just like Halvah, okay.  
> Also same thing as on Saint Motel, if you are Israeli or Argentinian, please let me pick your brain on cultural aspects, I want to do these countries justice.

Leorio strutted down the hall like he owned the place, which, in a way, he did. Sixteen years old, in the most advanced classes he physically could be in, one of the best players on the varsity basketball team, in the math club, widely considered one of the best looking guys on campus as well as the nicest, it could be said that Leorio was living the perfect high school experience. Everyone he passed knew his name, knew his reputation. Girl's fluttered their lashes at him and tossed they're hair his way, boys looked on with either awe or envy. Usually people didn't reach this status until their senior year, but Leorio had always been a go-getter.  
  
He smirked at a gaggle of girls gathered by a locker, high fived a few of his math club buddies, and bro-hugged one of his teammates as he headed to his next class, enjoying the contentment that came from general admiration. This was perfect. This was everything he'd been building since he'd moved here. This, at the very least, he could control, these people would respect and appreciate or acknowledge his efforts and talents. And he would be damned if he let anything destroy this carefully constructed persona. No one would ever know about his part time jobs, or the scabs on his back that never seemed to heal, or that he averaged three hours of sleep a night. No, here he was perfect and beloved and he would stay that way.  
  
He was almost to his classroom when he heard something slam against a locker. Twisting to find the source of the noise, he caught sight of a dark haired boy standing over another kid, papers scattering across the floor.  
  
Leorio was stepping foward in an instant, catching the boy by the back of his shirt as he turned to walk away. "Hey," he said, low and loud enough to catch the attention of everyone nearby. "Pick those up."  
  
"What?" The boy replied as Leorio jerked him around to face him, keeping one hand firmly gripping the kid's shirt. At this point the entire hall was watching, which was what he had been counting on.  
  
"The papers. Pick them up." He repeated, giving the kid a shove towards the floor. When the kid tried to stand, Leorio forced him back down with a hand to his shoulder. "Do it."  
  
With a dark look, the kid did as instructed. Leorio watched carefully until he was finished. "Good. Now hand them back and apologize."  
  
"The fuck-?" The kid spit out before Leorio tightened his grip on the kid's shoulder and gestured at the owner of the papers.  
  
"I said, apologize."  
  
The boy shoved the papers in front of him with a ground out "sorry," then Leorio released him.  
  
"Nicely done," Leorio added as the kid fled, head down. Moments like these were the few where he appreciated his father and his "methods of discipline." Public shaming was an exceedingly effective behavioural correction technique. Leorio had learned quickly, and, if all had gone well, he'd put the fear of G-d into that kid. With any luck he'd never pull any shit like that ever again.  
  
"Hey, sorry about that," he said as he turned back towards the boy's victim. "Hope you don't have to deal with his type again."  
  
Then all thought processes ground to a shuddering halt for a moment as he finally got a good look at the person before him, and when they kicked back on all he could think was "hot damn." The girl in front of him was fucking cute. Wide gray eyes and shoulder length blonde hair; pink lips and an oversized hoodie; tight jeans and a pair of worn black converse. He pulled himself together, a year or two of practice paying off as he smoothly continued. "Hey, I'm Leorio. You must be a freshman, or at least new here. I'm a junior so if you ever need someone to show you around or answer questions or whatever, just come find me. Or," Leorio said, spotting a pen tucked behind the girl's ear and snagging it. "Better yet, text me sometime." He took the girl's free hand and sprawled his number across it. "There," he said, caping the pen and slipping it back into place over her ear. "Don't be a stranger." With that he gave the girl a lopsided grin and a jaunty wave and jogged to his class. 

She hadn't called. Leorio tried at stamp out the flickers of disappointment as he hit two weeks without hearing from her, especially since he hadn't seen her anywhere on campus either. No one seemed to have heard of her, though "blond" and "cute as fuck" arguably weren't the most specific descriptors. He was beginning to think that he'd never see her again. His teammates had dubbed her "Cinderella," only he, unlike the prince, didn't even have one of her shoes, not that he'd actually know what to do with it if he did.  
  
Luckily, an opportunity presented itself in the form of a school assembly. Unlike the football team, which ran around and grunted and showed off, the basketball team just sat and watched like everyone else, something that had always bugged him before. However, when the dance team whirled out to perform, he took back every negative thing he'd ever said or thought about it because there, in the middle of the gymnasium, was the blond girl, and blessed, holy mother of all that is good could she dance. He watched, slackjawed, face heating and blood rushing uncomfortably southwards as she and the other girls finished their performance. He spent the rest of the assembly staring at her from across the gym, noting the way she sat, curled up against the bleachers, close enough to the other dance girls to be noticeably in the same group, but far enough away it was clear she really wasn't. The only one of them who acknowledged her existence at all was a girl a year younger than Leorio named Paku, who said something to her before turning back to her friends.  
  
The second they were dismissed, he sprinted over to intercept her as they all filed out to go home.  
  
"Hey!" He said, falling instep beside her, noticing the way she jumped a little, looking over at him. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."  
  
"Um, hi," she replied quietly, looking quickly away.  
  
"Uh, so, you never called. Did the number rub off or am I not your type or something?" He asked, running a hand through his hair as he chuckled awkwardly. "Which is totally cool, by the way, if you not into me I'll totally back off." His Abuolita had raised him to be a decent human being, after all. If she said no, that meant no.  
  
"Oh." She said, wrapping her arms protectively around herself. "Well, the thing is, it's kinda the other way around? I'm... I'm actually... a guy. So... yeah."  
  
Leorio's head snapped back towards her, turning to better inspect the person beside him. He'd thought she just had a small chest, but closer inspection revealed that there really was nothing there at all. Another look confirmed the existence of the barest hint of an Adam's apple. "Oh shit, dude. I'm sorry. Fuck, that's... wow that's embarrassing. Shit, I must have made you so uncomfortable."  
  
The gir-boy, he mentally corrected, flushed and shot him a glance. "It's fine. It happens to me a lot."  
  
Leorio laughed to try to dispel some of the awkwardness. "I'm a fucking idiot. Hey, why don't I buy you something from the student store to make it up to you?"  
  
The g-/boy/, he corrected again, shot him another look, then smiled slightly. "Sure, I guess."  
  
"Awesome. Let's go."  
  
"Wait," the boy called out as Leorio took off. He spun around to face the blond, continuing to walk backwards as his shorter companion ran to catch up. "You mean now?"  
  
"Duh," he replied. "If I don't take you now you'll disappear again and I'll never get the chance to get you apology gummies."  
  
The blond gave him an amused, but confused, smile. "Apology gummies?"  
  
"Yeah, I only have like, maybe thirty cents in my wallet so a pack of gummies is all I can afford. You got a problem with fruit snacks?"  
  
The blond shook his head and laughed. "No."  
  
"Good. That's settled then." He spun to face forward and the two of them made their way to the store, getting there just before it closed and escaping the rush with one pack of fruit snacks held victoriously in Leorio's grasp.  
  
As he passed them over, Leorio said, "I never did catch your name. Seems kinda dumb to be friends and not know it."  
  
"Are we friends?" The blond asked as he ripped open the packet and shook a couple of the tasty treats onto his palm.  
  
"Well, I don't buy snacks for just anybody. Only my friends or my girlfriend, and since you can't be one, that makes you the other right?"  
  
"Right," the other boy said, voice tinged with something Leorio couldn't quite place. "My name's Kurapika."  
  
"Nice to meet you, Kurapika. Or, well, not meet but you know what I mean."  
  
Kurapika laughed, then held out his hand, palm up, offering to share the gummies. "Nice to meet you too, Leorio." 

Kurapika looked around at the empty, private back parking lot, fear beginning to creep up his spine. This looked like the kind of place one could get mugged or assaulted. And sure, Leorio had seemed nice enough yesterday when he'd invited Kurapika to hang out with him during lunch, but Eema had taught him how looks and actions could be decieving. He couldn't deny that it was suspicious for someone as popular and cool as Leorio would want to hang out with him of all people.  
  
"Hey! You came!"  
  
Kurapika nearly jumped out of his shoes, frantically looking about to find the source of the voice.  
  
"Up here," it spoke again, and Kurapika lifted his chin to see Leorio looking down at him from up on the roof of some sort of concrete shed. Probably for a generator or something.  
  
Kurapika looked about again. It was unlikely there could be more people up there, and the shed was built against the hill, which meant that it really was just the two of them back here. He couldn't figure out if that made it any better or worse.  
  
"What're you looking for?" Leorio asked, the confusion obvious in his voice.  
  
Was it possible that this wasn't too good to be true? That this wasn't a prank or something like people used to play on him in elementary school? That Leorio actually could be a sweet, mouthwateringly hot, respectful guy who genuinely wanted to be his friend? His track record suggested that it should be impossible, but maybe it wasn't.  
  
"The step up is over on the other side if you wanna come join me. If not I can come down, but the view's better up here and we're less likely to be spotted," Leorio told him, then continued. "That came out badly, sorry, I just mean that I like privacy cause I'm kinda... yah know... a thing around here and people kept pestering me and stuff until I found this spot to hide and crap I'm rambling, sorry."  
  
"It's... it's fine," Kurapika said, still frozen in place. And maybe it was. Kurapika made his decision, sent up a quick prayer for protection, then rounded the structure, clamoring with as much grace as he could manage onto a box beside it. Leorio reached out and helped him onto the roof proper.  
  
Kurapika surveyed the area, finding it much cleaner than he expected and noting that the view really was better from up here.  
  
"Pretty nice, right?" Leorio asked as they sat. "Almost no one comes back here 'cept for Bruce, the janitor, and a couple teachers, but they're chill with us being up here. Mr. Shorinstein sometimes joins me if he has the time."  
  
Mr. Shorinstein was a favourite among students. He was just the right mix of strict and lenient. Kurapika hadn't had him yet, but he'd heard good things. "I thought this kind of thing would be against the rules," Kurapika replied as he pulled out his lunch bag.  
  
"Oh it is." Leorio said as he lay down, resting his head on his backpack. "But no one really seems to care if it's just me."  
  
Kurapika shot him a look. "Clarifying question: am I going to get in trouble for being up here? Because my school record is pristine and I'd rather not risk ruining it."  
  
Leorio grinned. "Nope. Well, probably. I promise to take full responsibility if we do get busted. Is that good enough for you?"  
  
Kurapika couldn't resist that grin and found his lips quirking up. "Deal. You better not renege." He fished around in his lunch bag for a moment. "Here," he said, holding out the baggie he'd withdrawn. "Eema made these yesterday. You're not allergic to anything, are you?"  
  
"Uh, just dust and pollen. What is it? And, sorry, but who's 'eema?'" Leorio asked, sitting up and hesitantly taking the bag.  
  
"It's rugelach. It's like a cookie. And Eema means mother in Hebrew. English isn't my first language and I forget to translate sometimes. My family's Israeli."  
  
"Oh! That's super cool! My family's Argintinian. Well, my mom's side anyway. And Spanish is my first language so I mess up sometimes too."  
  
"Have you ever been there to visit?"  
  
Leorio shook his head as he pulled open the bag. "Nah. I'd like to someday though. Would be pretty cool. Have you been to Israel?"  
  
"Every year for a month in the summer. The whole family comes. We're... very close."  
  
"That's dope." Leorio pulled out one of the rolls and bit tentatively into it. Then his eyes fluttered shut and he let out a moan that went straight to Kurapika's head. "Oh my- this is so good!"  
  
Kurapika, a light flush rising across his face, mumbled "thanks" as he watched Leorio savour the treat, continuing to make pleased noises that made Kurapika shiver, though he didn't know why. Eema and Abba would be thrilled when they heard that their little plot had worked. "The best way to a man's heart is through his stomach," Abba had always told him. "And if he doesn't like my rugelach, he's not worth your time," Eema had added as she'd smacked Abba's hand away from the tray of freshly baked sweets.


End file.
